MONDAY, JANUARY 31, 2005
SPORTS
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
RECRUITING: Mangino targets 'upper-echelon players'
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1B
Kansas' top junior college transfer who will sign on Wednesday is defensive end Rodney Allen. Allen played for Garden City Community College the past seasons where he had 10 sacks last year and was selected as a junior college All-American. A four-star recruit according to rivals.com, Allen chose to play with the Jayhawks despite receiving offers from Kansas State, Oklahoma State and Iowa State. In fact, Kansas State appeared to be front-runner with Allen until he visited the Kansas campus just more than a week ago.
Mangino and his staff almost didn't get Allen to visit the school, as Allen nearly canceled the visit to commit to Kansas State. At one point, Allen said he was 80 percent sure that he would become a Wildcat. But after Allen visited Lawrence, he was sold. Mangino's recruiting prowess and his ability to lure players away from other schools has never been stronger.
Mangino has always been fond of junior college players, as many of them make immediate impacts as Jayhawks, and he has done a great job of recognizing the talent that is needed to play at the Big 12 level.
Just look at last year's team. The defense would not have been nearly as strong without the additions of cornerback Theo Baines and defensive lineman Jermial Ashley. The offensive line would have been significantly weaker without Joe Vaughn. All three of those players were junior college transfers and played large roles immediately after joining the team.
Mangino found a way last season to beat Kansas State on the football field for the first time in more than a decade, but now he is also winning the in-
state recruiting battle. The Jayhawks will sign the top player from the state, quarterback Kerry Meier. It is amazing that Mangino was able to get Meier, considering his brother Dylan is currently Kansas State's quarterback, and his other brother, Shad, played for the Wildcats and is now the tight end for the Tennessee Titans. The Jayhawks nabbed three out of the top four high school players from the Sunflower state.
While most of the players coming in next year are threestar recruits, that does not mean that Mangino is not receiving interest from the upper-echelon players. In fact, Mangino nearly received a visit from the top player in the state of Texas, tight end Martellus Bennett. Kansas recruited against the best programs in the country: Texas, Miami, Oklahoma, Louisiana State and Texas A&M.
Unfortunately, the Jayhawks didn't nab Bennett, but Mangino did show the rest of the Big 12 something: He is not going to concede the best players in the country to Oklahoma, Texas or other prestigious programs. With a few more years of strong play on the field, complete with bowl game appearances and maybe even a Big 12 title, Mangino will be able to go after top players with a great chance of getting them to wear the crimson and blue.
Mangino and his staff have the program headed in the right direction on the football field, as expectations will be very high next year.
But he is also doing an outstanding job off the field, bringing in the necessary talent that will bring Kansas to the next level, where it can be a basketball AND a football school.
Colaiani is a McLean, Va., sophomore in journalism and political science.
Seniors reminisce about rival Mizzou
Seniors Wayne Simien, Keith Langford, Mike Lee and Aaron Miles have a special stake in tonight's game against the Titers, as their last opportunity to play Mizzou at Allen Fieldhouse. The seniors have never lost to Missouri at home.
BY MIRANDA LENNING
mlenning@kansan.com
KANSAN, SENIOR SPORTWRITER
Not that the Kansas vs. Missouri game needed added incentive, but for the Kansas seniors, it just might have it.
This is the final time Aaron Miles, Keith Langford, Mike Lee and Wayne Simien will face the Tigers in Allen Fieldhouse, where this group of seniors has never lost to Missouri.
In fact, the four seniors have pretty much had the upper hand in the series for their entire careers.
They own a 7-1 overall record against the Tigers and haven't lost to them in Kansas or Missouri. The seniors' one slip was in the 2003 Big 12 Conference tournament in Dallas.
"The win our freshman year felt good, but it felt good our sophomore year and junior years too," senior guard Aaron Miles said. "It's always nice to beat them."
The thing is, the rivalry is so heated, it doesn't matter what kind of year the teams are having — they will always get up for this
— they will always get up for this game.
Langford. On Saturday, after the Jayhawks' 90-65 victory against Texas, Langford didn't know that the Tigers had lost on their home court to the Kansas State Wildcats.
Just ask senior guard Keith
But for right now, the senior Jayhawks are focused on having their way with the Tigers one last time in Allen Fieldhouse.
Oklahoma. Those two schools will collide on Feb. 21 in Norman, Okla.
"Wow. They'll be ready for us." Langford chuckled.
win this game."
If Kansas can beat Missouri, it would be in good position at the top of the Big 12 Conference. Right now, the Jayhawks are 6-0, with a one-game lead over
"One of our goals is to win a conference championship, and in order to do that, you have to take care of business, especially at home," Miles said. "That is why it is so important for us to
Langford said the Jayhawks were trying to let everyone know that they were going to have to get through Kansas to get to the Big 12 Conference trophy.
"Kansas is always on top of the race," Langford said. "We want people to know the road is going to go through here."
Edited by Azita Tafreshi
RIVALRY: Tigers still a threat
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1B
Texas, Missouri lost at home to Kansas State on Saturday.
Kansas coach Bill Self isn't fooled by Missouri's .500 record. He said that was not indicative of the Tigers' talent.
The Tigers' scoring attack, when balanced, features four legitimate scoring threats sophomore forward Linas Kleiza, sophomore guard Thomas Gardner, junior guard Jimmy McKinney and senior guard Jason Conley
"There's four guys right there who can go for 15 to 20 to 25 every night, so we need to do something to make sure they
don't get off to a good start," Self said.
Combine their talent with a desire to defeat Kansas, and the Jayhawks could have a tough game on their hands.
"They'll play very hard," Self said. "Hopefully they won't play great, because we'll do some things well ourselves."
Miles said it didn't matter whether Missouri was struggling. The Tigers always bring their A-game to Lawrence.
"Regardless of how Missouri is playing, when Kansas and Missouri play, that is their best game," Miles said.
The 25-point defeat was the Longhorns' largest margin of defeat in coach Rick Barnes' seven years at Texas.
Kansas played arguably its best game of the season on
Despite all of the high-flying jams, the lopsided score and the amount of fans packed into the fieldhouse, Self said the most impressive element of Saturday's game was Kansas' cohesive play.
Saturday. The Jayhawks got off to a big lead, and for the first time this season against a good team, they didn't surrender it.
"We rebounded the ball well, we executed well, got the shots we wanted and we played great team defense," Self said.
His team forced the Longhorns into 20 turnovers and converted 29 points off of
them.
Senior guard Keith Langford said Saturday's victory put the Jayhawks one step closer to their goal of winning a conference championship. Tonight's game is just another stepping stone, he said.
But as high as the Jayhawks are, Missouri, which sits at 2-5 in the Big 12 Conference, is equally low, and Saturday's home defeat didn't help. Langford said he wanted to make sure the Jayhawks don't do anything to improve the Tigers' spirits.
"Going into the game, they'll be coming off a loss," Langford said. "We want to kick 'em while they're down."
North Central Association Accreditation Open Forums
- Edited by Jennifer Voldness
On January 30th,12 consultant-evaluators from research universities arrive for a three-day reaccreditation visit. KU is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools
Several open sessions will be available for interested faculty, staff, and students
Faculty Sessions
Date Monday, January 31, 2005
Time 3:30-4:15 P.M.
Location Parlors A and B Kansas Union
Tuesday, February 1, 8:30-9:15 A.M.
2005
International Room Kansas Union
Staff Sessions
Monday, January 31,
2005 11:15 A.M.-Noon Alderson Auditorium,
Kansas Union
Monday, January 31, 3:30-4:15 P.M. 2005
Student Sessions
Regionalist Room Kansas Union
The final report is available at www.ku.edu/~oirp/NCA/ReportTOC.shtml.A 37 page briefing document that summarizes key points from the self-study is available at www.ku.edu/~oirp/NCA/report_pdf/MCABrief_011805.pdf
Show your KU spirit wherever you go.
Put a Jayhawk in your wallet!
Jayhawk Visa Check Cards are available with any INTRUST checking account.
Jayhawk Visa Credit Cards have no annual fee and a low variable APR.
Jayhawk Visa Gift Cards are great gifts for holidays, birthdays, weddings and more.
KANSAS ALUMNI ASSOCIATION
Lawrence
544 Columbia
785-830-2614
901 Vermont
785-830-2600
www.intrustbank.com
Member FDIC
INTRUST encourages responsible credit card spending.
For credit tips, go to www.intrustbank.com/creditcards.
INTRUST is the exclusive provider of Jihawk Visa cards, which benefit the Kansas Alumni Association.